BBC snaps up women’s Euro rights

UK public-service broadcaster the BBC has acquired rights for all games involving the England women’s national football team at next year’s European Women’s Championships in Sweden.

The BBC acquired the rights in a sublicensing deal with pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport, which has the rights to the tournament under an agreement with football’s European governing body Uefa.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the BBC Two and BBC Three channels will provide live coverage of all England matches, as well as both semi-finals and the final. Some other matches that do not involve England will also be shown on BBC Three.

“We’re delighted to be adding the Uefa European Women’s Championships to our portfolio of women’s sport,” the BBC’s director of sport, Barbara Slater, said. “The response to women’s football at London 2012 showed that there is a strong appetite for it.”

The tournament will take place from July 10 to 28. England play Spain on the opening day of the tournament, Russia on July 15 and France on July 18.